Then... don't use it? I mean the first sentence says Alex quit using it, so that solves that problem.

I mean I hate most of the "communities" that revolve around hatred that exist on the internet, but I'm certainly not sitting around dedicating my thought processes to hoping that Stormfront forums or 8chan go away - I don't use them, I ignore them, and I hope to add positivity to the world instead of thinking about the negative.

I think you don't understand the power of Twitter yet...

Just because there is a negative buzz at the moment, it seems legit to say 'we don't need it'. you could never understand the impact and usefulness it gives around the world.

I do agree there are some usability issues, but from here, to dismiss the entire concept...

I completely understand and appreciate his view, but it offers no solutions and worst of all - he closes down comments on his post - which then basically makes his rant a 140+ character tweet. He "broadcasted" (to use his word) - no different than the thing he was trashing.

I always viewed Twitter as a broadcast medium you can customise and modify pretty extensively to suit your needs.

Every time I read some dramatic "I hate & quit X, Y or Z network" it's almost always down to the person not customising it well enough to suit their expectations.

This is no different.

I love Twitter, though I've been pretty critical of them recently.

I've made tons of friends with authors, people in the design industry, and those working on interesting projects. I wouldn't have discovered or become acquaintances with these people if it wasn't for Twitter.

The flip side of meeting all these fantastic people, is that anybody—even those who want to be hateful can reach out using the same exact means.

You can't take away the bad parts of Twitter, without also removing the best parts.

Yeah lets stick to IRC

Fuck yeah 90s!

A year ago I'd have claimed that this can't be a reasonable reaction.

Now I'm not so sure. A social platform that provides no way to actually stay away from someone targeting you with hate/threats should be held responsible.

A social platform that diminishes the gravity of a mob doing so, and still provides no way of avoiding it, is a sad thing to call acceptable.

Cue people saying it's the victim's fault.

Twitter is lame because: no one really cares, w/e you say will quickly be lost and forgotten in the neverending stream of words.

In this world if you do something significant enough, someone will write a book about it.

I'm on my way to billions. I don't have time to tweet or to read what you tweet.

The concept of having entirely open discussion is why I like Twitter. YOU design the content that you want to see by picking who can contribute to it. When you see something that you want to talk about, you can openly discuss or even contest that viewpoint right then and there. Yes, this means it's open to harassment but so is every medium that allows public conversation. If you frequently find yourself under scrutiny for your points, grow thicker skin, form a better argument, or reevaluate what you're saying in a public environment on the internet.

I think a lot of these things he talks about are what another man could view as features.

Without Twitter, I never would've come across DesignerNews.

I never would have the breadth of resources I have now to educate myself as a designer when I'm not going to school.

I wouldn't be introduced to ideas and stories from strangers around the world that I never would've come across anyway.

I never would have the courage to pursue a career in technology and design had I not known that there was an accessible community out there.

Seriously, what kind of crap did you follow on Twitter?

That's funny, I like Twitter for all the reason he hates it (minus the harassment part). I don't pretend it should be an all-encompassing social network that needs to do x, y and z perfectly for everyone.

I totally agree. Twitter has become a troll heaven and if someone disagrees with you nothing will stop him from harassing you for days and days.